THERE will be two full moons this month; one on the 1st and the other on the 31st. This second one is referred to nowadays as a ‘Blue Moon’. The Moon takes around 29.5 days to orbit the Earth once and apart from February all months have either 30 or 31 days, meaning it is possible to have two full moons in a calendar month.
TRADITIONALLY, September was the month when the crops were harvested; a time of year that was vital to local economies across the country.
Martin Lunn of the Earby Astronomical Society tells us what to look out for the skies in August.
IF you look north east on a January evening the first group of stars you will notice will be Ursa Major or the Plough. Its handle will be pointing to the horizon. The North Star, Polaris, will be in its normal position due north. The ‘W’ of Cassiopeia will be high up in the north west.
IN September, there will be a total eclipse of the Harvest Moon. The eclipse is unusual in one very special way; it will occur when the Moon is at its closest point to the Earth this year. This means it will be a monster moon and will appear to be 13 per cent larger than the last eclipse on April 4 this year.
July offers much interest to stargazers as Martin Lunn explains.
